New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) DMK MP Kanimozhi's arrest in the 2G spectrum scam Friday has come as a big blow to the party after its massive defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls and will put it through testing times in the coming days, political observers said.

 
 Political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said the DMK is caught in a difficult situation after its defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls last week where it won only 23 of the 119 seats it contested and the arrest of Kanimozhi, daughter of party supremo and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi.
 
 "The arrest of Kanimozhi has followed election of (J.) Jayalalithaa as chief minister. It could not be worse (for DMK). It is a litmus test of their mettle," Rangarajan told IANS.
 
 He said  DMK cadre will be demoralised "if the (Karunanidhi) family cannot protect one of its own".
 
 "In a sense, they are architects of their own denouement. Let's see how they react," he said.
 
 However, Rangarajan added that pulling out of ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) may not be an option for the DMK as it will loose leverage at the central government.
 
 The DMK is part of the Congress-led UPA government and has two union ministers, Dayanidhi Maran and M.K. Alagiri, apart from ministers of state. 
 
 DMK MP and former communications minister A. Raja is in jail for alleged manipulation of procedures in allocation of 2G spectrum. 
 
 Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar, named as co-conspirators in the 2G spectrum scam, were Friday taken into custody after a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court rejected their bail pleas.
 
 The CBI had named Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar as co-conspirators in its April 25 supplementary charge sheet after it traced an illegal money trail of Rs.214 crore in the scam. Kanimozhi is a stakeholder in Kalaignar TV.
  
 Rangarajan said that one of the options before the DMK was to start an agitation to claim and build public opinion about Kanimozhi being innocent in the 2G case.
 
 N. Bhaskara Rao, chairman of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), said that the DMK cannot afford to withdraw from the UPA in protest against arrest of Kanimozhi.
 
 "I don't think they will withdraw. They have to fight the battle legally. Beyond that, they cannot do much at the moment," he said.
 
 He said that if the Congress and Jayalalithaa come closer, it will spell further trouble for the DMK. 
 
 Rao said that not just Kanimozhi, but other members of Karunanidhi's family were likely to face legal troubles after Jayalalithaa's return to power in Tamil Nadu.
 
 "Other members of Karunanidh's family are going to be involved. There are  many old cases pending...There is a personalised battle between Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi," he said.
 
 Rao said that former state deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin was the only leader who has organisational background to steer the DMK if his father, 87-year-old Karunandihi, exits from political scene. 
 
 "The future of DMK is Stalin," he said.
 
 Rao said that DMK leadership is likely to spend the next six months to one year in fighting legal battles and wait for its difficult days to be over.
 
 "I think they will wait for their turn...But no other political party has seen this kind of political struggle," he said. 
 
 K. Sreekumar, a Kochi-based political analyst, said that “nexus of DMK with business” has been there for a long time and the arrest of Kanimozhi provides the party an opportunity for introspection.
 
 “It is an opportunity for introspection not only for DMK but other political parties having businesses and using their political might through controversial means,” he said.